Gifts of Power
by Cambrian Beckett
Summary: This is a potential one shot series involving my SI/OC Vali. Read inside for more information. If you haven't read any of my previous works this might not make much sense to you. Or it might intrigue you, so that you do go read some of my previous works. That'd be nice.


So this is an idea I had. I don't know if it'll go anywhere from here but I found myself writing, so now at least this first one shot is a thing.

Essentially this involves a different Vali than the one some of you may know. This Vali made it to the portal at the end of my story "All of Eternity" and was brought before Omni-Me. Instead of being offered the position of "main character" however, Omni-Me took this Vali and essentially leashed him, turning him into a tool to influence the characters of other stories in smaller ways than the Vali you all know and love... to hate.

So this first one shot is set in Luke Cage. I doubt there'll be more of it, I had a hard time nailing down the characters in it correctly. However, if you have an idea for a one shot where Omni-Me sends Vali to tweak things somewhere else, let me know. I'm open to suggestions and prompts to possibly keep this thread alive despite still not having a very easy time with writing right now.

 **A/N: Here we go. Heads up, spoilers for Luke Cage S1 ahead. We start off on episode 7 before flashing back to episode 1 and then back again to episode 7, for anyone who might get confused.**

Cornell Stokes sneered as he pointed an accusing finger at his cousin, a mix of alcohol and anger over both the past and the present influencing the words that next came out of his mouth. "Running around, half-naked all the time. You wanted it Mariah. You wanted it and you know it."

As he moved to walk past her, confident in the knowledge that that jab would do some serious damage, his thoughts were already starting to drift off onto more important things. Until a large unopened bottle of champagne struck him across the back of the head with as much force as Mariah could muster.

"NO! No, no, no!"

Mariah screamed at him as she slammed into him with the force of a wild cat. He couldn't get his bearings, the blow to the head had dazed him for a split second, and a second was all his dear cousin needed to back him across his office into the window overlooking his club, and then out through it.

He hit the ground hard as glass fell around him. Some of it was under him, some of it above him. He knew because he could feel it digging into his back through his ruined high end suit, and he could feel shards of it in his face every time he grimaced in pain.

"I did NOT want it! No!" Mariah was screaming from above him even as Cornell tried to move, tried to get up. Damnit, even breathing was hard. A whole lot of things in his body were broken at the moment, that was for sure. A punctured lung would be par for the course.

"No! You shut up! No, I didn't want it!" Mariah had come down stairs by this point and was now screaming at him as he finished crawling to the stage, turning to look up at her. Oh she was going to pay for this, she was going to pay dearl-

All thought went out of his head when she drove the heavy circular base of a mike stand into his chest. Oh fuck that hurt a lot more. Then she did it again. Fuck was she trying to kill him?! As she slammed it into his yielding flesh over and over again, Cornell's last thought amongst the living ended up being 'Yes. Yes, she was.'

And then everything went white.

When he wakes up, it takes every ounce of control he didn't know he had to not shoot straight up and holler. Instead, his first breath after being dead for however long is slow and even and most importantly, quiet. Everything is so bright, so new. He breathes in and not only is there no pain, the smells are all so pungent, and it's fantastic. There's a sheet over him though, and he can hear voices. He stills, trying to figure out who's nearby.

"You're having second thoughts." Shades is who he's hearing right now. The man walks further into the room judging by his footsteps, before stopping at the bar, where Cornell can hear another heart beating.

After a moment, Shades speaks again, "What's on your mind?"

"I'm not having any thoughts. Is that normal?" Mariah! Cornell's blood boils and a moment later he's up off the ground, sheet flipping away, despite his initial desire to sit still in listen. The only other two people in the room turn to him in abject shock. He smiles a smile that he knows isn't very nice at all, and directs his gaze to Mariah.

"Very soon cous, it will be."

 **-x-X-x-**

Vali was bored. As he sat in the corner of the nightclub, he couldn't help wondering exactly why he was here. Well, no that was a lie. He knew why he was here, the beacon that shown brightly on the nightclub's owner told him why. Cornell Stokes, or Cottonmouth as people called him behind his back. What was so special about the man, hm?

At first there hadn't seemed to be anything special to find. Stokes was just another gun dealer running a beautiful nightclub as a front for his illicit activities. Rather cut and dry compared to what Vali usually dealt with. But Vali stuck around, because what choice did he really have? And eventually after hours of enjoying the women and liquor, he was rewarded with a sight he'd not been expecting.

Luke Cage was manning the bar. Now Vali may be over four thousand years old and some change, but his memory just happened to be perfect. He'd recognized the tall perfectly built man instantly. The too tight jacket was rather amusing, but the face was indistinguishable. That made this all a bit more exciting. A classy joint like this place didn't have TVs hanging from the walls, so Vali had had no idea he was in the Marvel Universe until now.

And if his suspicions were correct and Cornell Stokes was Luke Cage's bad guy, it made more sense that he was here. Though he really didn't see how it would be fair to Luke to do what he'd come to do. Ah well, his was not to question, his was to act. So he sat and waited and watched some more. Stokes left, Cage left, and Vali stayed.

He couldn't leave after all, he was stuck here. A dimensional traveler tied to the location he landed in, usually sent to change one small thing and then pulled back to be sent on the next errand. It had its moments, but all in all Vali felt like a leashed dog. If he was being honest with himself, that's exactly what he was.

The all-powerful version of himself had turned Vali into nothing more than a plot device. Vali thought he should really be more upset about it, but for some reason whenever he started getting worked up over it, it just ceased to matter. Strange that.

His musings were interrupted as a shadow fell over him. A large shadow. A heavyset man Vali'd heard called Sugar was staring down at him. "Hey man, club's closing. You gotta go."

Vali blinked at that. Huh, the place had cleared out while he'd been wallowing in his thoughts. He really should have at least noticed the music ending. It'd been good too.

Waving a hand dismissively, he made eye contact with Sugar and spoke evenly, "I don't need to leave. Tell everyone I'm waiting to meet with Mr. Stokes. And let him know I'm here when he returns."

Sugar's eyes glazed over and he nodded amicably. "You don't need to leave. I'll tell everyone you're waiting to meet with Mr. Stokes and let him know you're here when he returns."

Vali smiled, "Good man."

It didn't take long for Cornell Stokes to retun. Vali looked the picture of casual innocence when Cottonmouth finally stood before him, eyeing him with clear anger. It had been amusing to watch the man smack Sugar upside the head before kicking him out for letting Vali stick around in the club after hours.

"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

With a chuckle, Vali stands and spreads his arms wide. "Cornell Stokes, I am your salvation."

The response to Vali's cocky statement isn't much of a surprise. Cottonmouth pulls a gun from jacket of the guy standing right behind him and shoots Vali in the chest three times.

While the ancient monster had more than enough time to dodge the bullets, letting them hit him just made Vali's job easier. Both Cornell's eyes and the eyes of his toady widen but Vali is already gone from in front of them, standing on the stage in the next moment, grabbing the mike.

"Cornell Stokes, I am here to offer you a once in a life time offer, sent to you by God himself!" It might be a bit grandiose, but Vali cherished these moments. He was if nothing else a big fan of showmanship, so when he had the chance to do it himself, he took it.

Much to Vali's approval, Cottonmouth was quick to adapt. Stepping forward, he brought his hands together, interlocking his fingers and smirking, "Is that so? Well, I suppose it'd be rude if I didn't at least listen to this 'once in a life time offer'."

Well, Vali was perfectly fine with ignoring the fact Stokes had already shot him, if that was how the nightclub owner wanted to play it. Grinning, Vali stepped off the stage and pulled a vial out of his jacket pocket. One might say it was lucky the bullets hadn't struck the thing, but it wasn't luck. Vali was more than fast enough to make sure that his precious cargo had stayed intact.

Holding up the container of bright red liquid, Vali grins and shifts his face to show his true nature, veins popping and teeth elongating as his eyes turn to gold and black.

The man behind Cornell steps back at the transformation but to his credit, Cottonmouth stays where he is, even as Vali approaches. "The blood of life for one Cornell Stokes. A gift of immense power to even the odds against those who will nip at your heels. You will need it to stand toe to toe with the man who comes for all you've built."

Stokes doesn't immediately take the vial offered out to him, instead letting out a chuckle tinged with disbelief, "And what sort of strings come with this 'gift'? What does 'God' want from me?"

"Nothing. Take the gift and do with it what you will. At your most dire moment, drink it and end your life and you will arise stronger than ever before. All my God wishes from this gift is to see what you do with it."

"Ah there's the catch. I just have to kill myself do I?" Despite his words and the scoff Cottonmouth directs Vali's way; his hand reaches out anyways and closes around the offered vial. A moment later it's slipped away and Vali grins, pulling back his own hand and straightening up. His job was done.

As he opened his mouth to give some departing words, someone new walked in, a Caucasian with a shaved head, wearing shades. Honestly, he seemed a bit out of place. He stopped at seeing Vali and his brow furrowed, "Who's this?"

Vali grins, he can't help stirring a bit of dissent on his way out. Raising a finger to his lips he winks at Cottonmouth, "Nipping at your heels from all corners Cornell Stokes."

And then he disappears, leaving behind a flabbergasted Shades, a contemplative Stokes, and a shell shocked Tone who still had enough presence of mind to take a bit of pleasure in keeping this information from Shades, who he'd felt was trying to edge in on his position as Stokes' right hand man.

Unfortunately for Tone, he died shortly after at Stokes' hand for the mistake of killing Pops. And so the secret of the vial of blood died with him. After all, two may keep a secret, if one is dead.

 **-x-X-x-**

As Cornell Stokes finished draining the blood from his dear cousin and dropped her corpse next to Shades', he breathed in deeply and smiled a grin full of sharp canines. Oh yes, he could get used to this. He felt so powerful. Shades had tried to shoot him, which had been funny. He'd taken the bullet in his shoulder, his already ruined suit getting a bit worse for wear. And it hadn't even fazed him, hadn't even hurt him. He'd just kept coming and all Shades got for his trouble was a broken neck. It'd snapped like a twig in Cottonmouth's powerful hands.

Breaking Shades' neck was easy. Tearing into Mariah's to get at her lifeblood was easier still. She'd tried to kill him, she HAD killed him. The only reason he was even alive now was because he'd started off the day by drinking the vial of blood the weird fucker had given him weeks earlier. Not because he'd planned to off himself or anything. Oh no, he'd drank it because of his plan to blackmail Luke Cage, who he now knew was also Carl Lucas.

Stokes had gone into that meeting confident he'd had Cage's number. The bullet proof strong man was a goody two shoes, despite his rap sheet. The guy wasn't a murderer and Cornell had known that. But it never hurt to be too careful, so he'd decided to use the little insurance policy that had supposedly come from God himself. More than likely it was a devil out there that'd one day come to collect, but Cornell didn't care.

He was powerful now, he was power incarnate. At that moment it felt like there wasn't a damn thing he couldn't do. He was- He was cut off by the sudden sound of a choked back sob. Now that he focused, he realized he'd been hearing the new heartbeat and heavy breathing for a while now. There was a little mouse here that was trying to hide from his new senses.

Smiling wickedly, he took his time walking around the fallen bodies and broken glass and his own bloody murder scene. He meandered his way over to the heart beat, and turned the corner to find a young woman with delightfully curly hair crouched down and hiding. She saw him and her mouth immediately opened to scream, but before she could get out a single sound his hand was covering it, silencing her.

Chuckling, he shook his head even as he put a name to her face, "Mm, Candace right? You're one of my waitresses."

Her eyes were wide and she was shaking violently in his grasp, but after a moment she nodded jerkily. Cottonmouth grinned in response.

"Good. That's good. How long have you been here watching? Ah well, it doesn't matter. I'm sure you saw enough."

That got a bad reaction out of the girl, who began shaking her head as best she could in his grip, whimpering in fear. Bringing up his other hand, the girl stills, clearly expecting him to hit her. Instead Cornell brushes the back of his free hand along her face.

"It's alright. I'm not thirsty like that for the time being. I have another hunger I'm feeling the need to take care of right now. Help me with that, and you might just get to live.

Crying openly now, Candace nonetheless nods in terrified agreement. Cottonmouth's grin only widens.

Harlem and everything in it, including this scared little girl, was his for the taking now. Who could stand against him?

 **A/N: Gimme feedback plox. Let me know what you think and like it says in the OP, feel free to throw me ideas for other places this shackled Vali could land.**


End file.
